The new series is informed by the online image-sharing culture of social media and the fantasy life that it espouses.

Home editing software and the internet allow individuals to promote their own fantasy lives in ways that were once the domain of commercial advertising agencies promoting products. Online, fantasy and reality are virtually indistinguishable. If, through social media, people can now be stars in their own commercials, what are these commercials actually about?

Browsing through many Instagram and Facebook feeds points to a new hyperreality of these self-made promotions – the highly curated representation of the American dream; wealth, exclusivity, and celebrity. If these simulations refer back to the glossy visual tactics of media advertising to create their “reality,” Morris is interested in shifting these reference points to a more personal emotional space.

The paintings portray a more flawed and vulnerable experience into these projections of the American dream, shifting the focus from symbols of wealth and prestige to more human questions about balance, control, and fulfillment.